An embodiment relates generally to identifying road structure for detecting clear path of travel.
Vision-imaging systems are used in vehicles for enhancing applications within the vehicle such as autonomous driving system or semi-autonomous driving systems. Such systems may be used to autonomously or semi-autonomously control the vehicle through steering systems, throttle control, braking control, or even utilized for lane departure warning systems.
Clear path detection systems identify a clear path in which to operate a vehicle traveling along a road. The path of travel is sensed for objects, including all non-road surfaces, so that the vehicle may travel along an uninterrupted path of travel. Features within an image may be detected and analyzed according to their form and relationship to the roadway. However, such methods may be slow due to intense data processing or the inability to distinguish clear path features and non-clear path features. Moreover, analyzing an entire image for detecting the clear path is also time consuming and data processing intensive.